Power imbalances and social governing ideologies mar this anarchist’s paradise. In Anarres, the most apparent hierarchies are in academia. Sabul, a physicist, embodies power imbalance and the presence of Urras’ ideology on Anarres. Shevek, the protagonist, is informed that he will be working with Sabul, that he “will be [Sabul’s] man,”(Le Guin, 58) This is significant as the singular possessive is rare on Anarres, because “’nothing is yours. It is to use. It is to share”’ (Le Guin, 27). Sabul’s power comes from his role as a gatekeeper of physics knowledge. He controls what can be sent to Urras for publication and to what Shevek has access. This power imbalance comes to a head when Shevek is trying to publish a paper on Urras. Sabul will only publish it if can “take the credit”, exposing the nature of the relationship to be “exploitive, not organic, but mechanical” (Le Guin, 117). These power imbalances on Anarres are subtle and often times present only in individual interactions, indicating the presence of hierarchical ideology within the Annaran …show more content…
Jameson argues that Anarres is a utopia due to its scarcity (Jameson, 277). The moon has just enough to keep the population alive during the good times, and not quite enough during the bad ones. Le Guin strips the world of anything more than the bare minimum. No one can have more material than others because there is so little. With so little, Jameson argues that “human beings have surmounted historical determinism, and have been left alone with themselves to invent their own destinies”(Jameson, 271–72). However, this is not a utopic space, because the ideologies that shape any space are derived from past ideologies, and have incorporated them into current